Chronology

This is part 137 of a chronology begun in JPS 13, no. 3 (Spring 1984), and covers events from 16 November 2017 to 15 February 2018 on the ground in the occupied Palestinian territories and in the diplomatic sphere, regionally and internationally. U.S. president Donald Trump pledged to move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and formally recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, reversing decades of U.S. policy. His decision drew an international backlash, sparked a wave of protests and clashes in the oPt, and severely compromised his administration’s peace-making efforts. While Israelis celebrated Trump’s decision, the Palestinians argued that it demonstrated Trump’s pro-Israel bias and announced their refusal to accept the U.S. as the sole mediator in any future peace talks. Furious with the Palestinian response, Trump ordered punitive cuts to U.S. humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people, further undermining his own peace initiative, which advisors insisted was still underway. The Palestinians began pursuing a new, multilateral framework to continue the peace process. Amid these developments, the Palestinian national reconciliation process stalled again.